


Don't Starve

by No_Birdness_Like_Snow_Birdness (TheEruditeGrammacist)



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Death, Gen, Hallucinations, Hypothermia, Insanity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Starvation, death by fire, forest fire, wildfire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-17 14:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3532079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEruditeGrammacist/pseuds/No_Birdness_Like_Snow_Birdness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or freeze. Or burn. Or go insane and get devoured by your own hallucinations. Or go out in the dark without a torch. Or do anything else featured on this list.<br/>A collection of ficlets depicting ways to die in Don't Starve and how to avoid them.</p><p>UPDATES WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was quite astounded by how often some people die in Don't Starve. It's often the little things that do the worst damage, too. Plus, there's a lot in the game that beginners are initially unaware of, like Treeguards or Charlie, that will catch them off guard. So, I am here to help. The following is a collection of things to watch for and advice on what to do in these situations in the form of a short story, followed by an explanation of what I'm talking about. Also, this idea was inspired by Krunkidile, who made the Team Service Announcements on YouTube. Essentially I'm making my own Don't Starve Service Announcements, but as a short story compilation rather than a bunch of videos. So credit for the concept goes to him (or her, I really don't know his/her gender).

Say, pal, looks like you're having some trouble! I have secret knowledge that I can share with you. If you think you are ready for it.

What's that? You are? But you've seen the origin trailer for Don't Starve, so you know where I'm going with this? Well, don't worry. I'm not going to trick you into building and activating a doorway to another dimension. If you care about this advice I have, then you're already on my island. There's no need for tricks. No, I'm just going to lay it all out for you. After all, I want my little puppets to survive long enough to reach me, don't I? Besides, even if you don't choose to seek me out, still. What fun would it be if you just died on the first night? No fun at all. Ok then! Sit back, little puppet, as I bestow upon you the knowledge you need to survive in this place.


	2. Don't Starve

Wilson walked back to his camp, already feeling the beginning pangs of hunger. Luckily, he had just returned from a successful hinting trip, having killed two Beefalo and caught several rabbits. And judging by the banging noise coming from behind his science machine, he had also caught a bird.

He smiled as he set about his work. He built farms from all of the manure he'd collected from Beefalo and planted all of his seeds. He then hung all of his Beefalo meat to dry into jerky so that it would last a very long time before spoiling. He then killed all of the rabbits he'd caught. Seeing his pig friends approaching, he decided to give them the morsels from the rabbits. After all, he'd gotten so much Beefalo meat, he didn't expect to be going hungry anytime soon. Besides, the morsels were tiny and hardly filling, but the pigs would enjoy them just as much as any other meat. Plus, it would make them happy and earn their loyalty for longer. Everyone won.

However, after all of his chores were done, Wilson was starting to get pretty hungry. He looked around for something to snack on while he waited for his meat to dry, but he'd planted all of his seeds. His berry bushes, however, were full of plump and juicy berries, just waiting to be eaten.

But not by him. As he approached the nearest bush, a Gobbler sprung out of it and picked the bush clean, devouring each and every berry and moving on to the next bush. Wilson shouted at it angrily and ran to his weapons chest and pulled out his boomerang, but it was too late. The Gobbler finished off his berries and disappeared into a barren bush. Wilson absolutely hated it when they did that.

Wilson was quickly becoming very hungry, but his meats weren't dry yet. "Meat takes a while to dry." He muttered. He cast a desperate look at his crops, but they hadn't grown at all. "Guh! It's growing so slowly!" he yelled.

Wilson was beginning to feel light-headed from hunger. He kneeled down by his fire pit in despair, until a welcome banging noise caught his attention. The bird trap! He was saved!

Wilson crawled over to the captured redbird and released the trap, catching his prey as it tried to escape. He crawled back to the fire and started it up, then killed the bird.

It dropped nothing but a feather.

Wilson's eyes widened. He dropped the feather and it floated down into the fire. Wilson keeled over, slowly losing consciousness as hunger overtook him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, since the game is called Don't Starve, I couldn't resist making the first chapter about how to avoid starvation. So, first of all, it's a bad idea to make farms out of all of your manure. Keep some on hand for emergencies, as it can be used as fertilizer to advance plants to the next stage if you need food urgently.  
> Secondly, you should never hang up all if your meat right off the bat. Once you've hung meat up to dry, you will not get it back until it's done. So while it's a good idea to hang up a couple pieces for jerky, since jerky takes forever to spoil, it's a much better idea to cook most of your meat over a fire instead.  
> Do not feed the pigs. If you have built pig houses near your camp, good on you. It's better to keep them neutral until you actually need them. You can feed them extra fruits and vegetables, and even flower petals if you need manure, but always feed yourself first. Pigs don't need food. You do.  
> Berry bushes, while a good source of food, should never be leaned on too heavily. A Gobbler can spawn from any berry bush at any time, and they can and will eat all of your unpicked berries. Always pick the berries promptly to make room for more to grow, and to keep them away from Gobblers. Also, while Gobblers do drop two drumsticks upon death, don't even bother trying to kill them until you have a ranged weapon. They are faster than you, so unless you have a way to stop them from running (chase them into a walled area or somewhere similar) it's best to use ranged weapons like boomerangs if you're aiming to kill one.  
> Bird traps, too, are a good source of morsels but should never be relied on as your main food source. Birds are just as likely to drop a feather as they are to drop a morsel. It is worth noting that feathers can be used as fire fuel if you just need to cook your meat, but if you're starving and have no food, the fact that feathers are flammable is kind of a cold comfort.


	3. Don't Freeze

Willow absolutely hated the cold.

She shivered as she added another log to her fire. It was the main thing keeping her warm at the moment, the earmuffs she wore made of rabbit pelts provided only meager protection, and the heat-absorbing stone she had made was currently laying by her fire, recharging.

But even with those things, she could barely stand to be away from her fire for longer than a few minutes. She cast a sad look at the farms she had built earlier in the year; their contents hadn't grown an inch. While she could not honestly say that she'd expected her crops to grow in this intense cold, that didn't make her any happier about it.

Willow sighed and picked up her thermal stone. By that point it had become moderately warm, and Willow was confident that she would be able to make it to her berry bushes, the only thing that would grow in this weather, without freezing to death. She made her way over to the bushes and picked them clean, snacking on a few berries as she worked.

The thermal stone had grown cold, and the fire had gone out. Willow bit her lip and hurried back over to it, throwing her last twigs and grass tufts on it and starting it back up. She ran to her chests in search of fuel, cursing herself for wasting valuable fire fuel on something so mundane and useless as _storage._

There was nothing to be done about it now, though. Willow gripped her axe and, already feeling the sting of the cold, ran out to the forest. With numb fingers, Willow chopped into the hard, frozen wood of the tree. Her vision began to cloud and ice began to form on her skin.

She continued determinedly chopping, feeling the cold gnaw at her flesh until she could barely stand. 

And then she couldn't.

The axe fell from her frozen hands as she collapsed, curling up in an attempt to preserve _some_ heat. She pulled out her lighter and held it close, but the tiny flame did little to ward off the bitter cold of winter.

Not even a minute later, the lighter fell from lifeless hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're all living in a winter wonderland! Except not really, in Don't Starve. Winter is when you cower by your fire because if you don't, you'll freeze to death very quickly.  
> Whether you're playing Don't Starve or Reign of Giants, always prepare for winter well before it arrives. Stock up on food because crops don't grow (except berries, albeit more slowly) and make warm clothing. Rabbit earmuffs are incredibly cheap to make, only requiring two rabbits and a twig, but are incredibly weak, too. Thermal stones are also cheap, but must be recharged.  
> Always have fuel handy. If you don't, you will have to make emergency trips away from the safety of your fire, which is always bad. And especially if you're Willow, if you start freezing to death next to anything flammable, light it on fire immediately. The fire will stop the freezing, and as a bonus, burned trees will drop charcoal in one hit, which is a good fire fuel. And torches and Willow's lighter will help to delay freezing, but not for very long.


End file.
